Ms Marie Donnelly:

The council is on record on the position with regard to data centres. Our view is data centres should have their own energy supply, a corporate power purchase agreement, PPA, for example, in place and energised, prior to the commencement of its operations. We are also against the idea of self-generation on site, largely because the mechanism and fuel that would be used on that basis would be a fossil fuel and that would mean basically investing in ongoing assets that will continue to be used and would continue to give emissions. We have a position we have been very clear on in that context. We are not against data centres, but that means the managed roll-out of data centres where they have a sustainable electricity supply that is not adding to fossil fuel emissions.